Iran heads into runoff election

Iran is heading into a presidential run-off today following a record-low turnout in the election last week.

Only 40 percent of approximately 61 million eligible citizens voted, a new low in presidential elections since the 1979 Iranian revolution. The two candidates who emerged at the top failed to secure a majority. Of about 24.5 million ballots counted, moderate candidate Masoud Pezeshkian received about 10.41 million votes while hardliner candidate Saeed Jalili secured 9.47 million.

Voter apathy has risen amid disillusionment following deadly nationwide protests in the last two years, as well as economic troubles like over 40 percent inflation due to mismanagement and U.S. sanctions.

Iranian foreign policy expert Hamid Reza Gholamzadeh ascribed the low turnout to the moderate camp’s failure to engage the sector of the electorate that normally votes for it. It is likely that today’s election will experience a higher turnout as there is a clearer choice between two differing camps, and it will probably work in Pezeshkian’s favor. Should Pezeshkian win, he has pledged to lift sanctions by restoring the nation’s stagnant 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. He has also promised to close the widening gap between the establishment and the people.